Refrigerating apparatus



Sept. 21, 1943. MJ. GouLoozE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 r! .m w ...NNA

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REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9. 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept- 21, 1943. M; .L GouLoQzE 2,329,752

-REFRIGERATING APPARATUS I Filed Nov. 9, 1940 5 Sheets-Shelet 3 4 R E 2 ,22W ww m Knr/M W mw HKM n ff/.WW ffl/m w A A ww w .4. f 2%. 2 2 .W .Y .n ff. am

' Patented Sept. 21, 1943 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Martin J. Goulooze, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to Nash-Kelvnator Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Maryland rApplication November 9, 1940, Serial No. 365,135

4 claims.l (ci, 22o- 9) The present invention pertains to refrigera' tors, and more particularly to refrigerator cabinet construction. 4 v It is an object of the present invention to construct a refrigerator cabinet having inner and outer walls interconnected by a non-heat conducting breaker strip and to provide a protecting cover for said breaker stri'p.

It is another object of the present invention to interconnect the inner and outer Walls of the cabinet peripherally adjacent to the opening to the food storage compartment so as to form theA front wall of the cabinet. i

It is still another object of the present invention to provide metallic Acover members over the breaker strips formed of relatively thin gauge material, and having a relatively low heat conduction value so as .to minimize the transfer of heat from one wall to another.

It is still another object of the present invention to form the cover member from an alloy such as stainless steel or the like and'to provide a series of corrugations therein to reinforce it against buckling and the like.

A still further object o f the present'l invention is to aiix the cover members in position without the use of Aextraneous ai'xing means.

A still further object is to arrange the cover members as to be relatively adjustable to permit a close abutting iit therebetween.

'I'he invention itself,'however, bothl as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following descriptions of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational vview of a refrigerator cabinet with parts broken away showing the invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional viewl Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear view ofthe corner of the cabinet with the inner and outer wall in section;

Fig. "5 is a fragmentary cross-sectionalview taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken" along line 6--6 ofl Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of a cabinet with parts broken away'and parts shown in section embodying a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 8' is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 8--8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 9--9 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line llll0 of Fig. '1;

Fig. 11l is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line ll-II of Fig. '7; and

Fig. l12 isan enlarged fragmentary cross--sec-V tional View illustrating method of assembly.

Shown in the drawings is a refrigerator cabinet 20 having a food storage compartment-l 22. A swingably mounted door 24 closes the opening 25 to the compartment. The ,cabinet is formed with an outer shell 26 enclosing in spaced relation an inner liner 21 which forms the walls of the food storage compartment. Heat insulation material 29 is placed;` between the liner 21 and shell 26.

The shell 26 is bent at right angles to form a marginal trim edge 30 extending in spaced relation about the opening 25. The edge 30 is formed S-shaped in cross-section with a folded back portion 32 extending back to the corner edge and thence rearwardly with the side panel a short distance, thence bent at right angles to extend forwardly in spaced parallel relation to the trim edge 30 forming a supporting flange 34. The

flange 34 is greater in width than the trim edge 31 that extends peripherally about the opening 25 towards and in planular alignment with the i flange 31. The flanges 31 and 34 terminate a spatial distance apart, andare joined together byanon-heat conducting breaker strip 40. A longitudinal edge of the breaker strip is recelved inpocket 36 and is secured by screws 42 vfastening the breaker strip to the liner.

to flange 34. The opposite edge of the breaker strip lies against the face of Aflange 31 and is secured thereto by screws 44 threadably receivable by the speed nuts 45 that are securedly clipped to rearwardly extending edge 46 of flange 31. The speed nuts 45 are set and clipped to flange 31 at spatial intervals to receive screws 44 for breaker 'strip may be directly secured by threading the screws into` the iiange 31, but where the liner and flange are coated with vitreous enamel speed nuts are desirable as the enamel readily The chips when screws and the like are attempted to be threaded therethrough.

To provide a. protective covering for the breaker strip and conceal the heads of the screws a thin metallic sheet having a thickness of approximately .003 to 010 of an inch is preferably used to form a trim cover 50 to extend over the breaker strip 40.- 'I'he cover 50 is preferably formed of stainless steel thoughit may be formed of other material and suitably coated with enamel, or it may be plated. 'I'he cover extends over theface of the breaker strip with a longitudinal edge extending into the groove 36 adjacent the rear .side of trim 30. The cover is held in close abutment against the trim by the flange 34 which tends to press in a forwardly direction constricting the width of the groove to the thickness of breaker strip and cover. opposite longitudinal edge of cover 50 is marginally bent to extend rearwardly 'at right angles, an at an intermediate longitudinal line is bent to extend inwardly at an inclined angle to form a locking ,ap 54. The flap 54 frictionally'engages the inclined` side 55 of recess 56 extending longitudinally along the edge of the breaker strip lying adjacent the face of flange 31. The inclined side 55 extends to form a restricted opening with the flange 31 into the recess 56. As the flap 54 frictionally engages the side 55 the corner edge 52 of the ap will abut against the face of flange 31 held thereagainst by the tension of the ap 54 against side 55 and the tapering corner edge of the breaker strip. The frictional engagement of ap 54 against the inwardly inclined side 55 binds the cover to the breaker strip against accidental withdrawal therefrom.

The door 24 is constructed with an outer panel 60 and an inner panel 62 spaced therefrom to provide therebetween heat insulation material 64. The outer panel 50 is secured by weld to member 65. Screws 61 secure the inner panel 62 to member 65 and also a peripherally extending balloon type door seal by means of a tongue section 1| that is interposed between the frame and the inner panel. The tongue is formed integral with the gasket 10 and also serves to insulate the panel 62 from the member 65 against heat conduction. The seal 10 is formed to overlie and conceal the screwheads, and is adapted to sealUaganst the trim edge 3 0 of the outer shell when the door is in closed position.

In the present construction, the breaker strips are secured in sections across the top, bottom and the vertical sides adjacent to the rectangular opening 25. Each of the breaker strips is pro- ,vided with a respective cover 50 so that there is left a small gap between the sections in each of the four corners. To conceal and cover these gaps there are provided T-shaped corner strips 12. Each corner strip 12 is formed with a. face portion 14 which overlies and bridges the adjoining cover sections. and a U-shaped portion 15 that extends longitudinally along the rear side of face portion 14 adapted to engage under and around an end of the cover and breaker strip (see Fig. 6). One end of the corner strip enters into groove 36, and its opposite end is turned to extend towards the face of ange 31 to form a corner 16 between the abutting cover sections. In attaching the member 12 to the structure it is slid horizontally between the gap so that the U-shaped section engages around an end of a cover and breaker strip and the end of member Thus the corner strip 12 serves to lock the cover to the breaker strip while at the same time it is securely held in position.

` vided corner supports or gussets 90. Plates 9| are welded to each corner on the inner side of ange 31 which is in alignment with gussets 90 which extend diagonally across the corners within the outer 'shell and welded to the rear side of flange 34. In assembly, as the liner is set within the shell the plates 9| are secured by metal screws 94 to a respective gusset 90 after being spaced therefrom by non-heat conducting spacers 95.

In Figs. 7 to 12 there is shown a modified form of the invention embodied in a refrigerator cabinet |00. The cabinet |00 comprises outer shell |02 and inner linerJM. 'I'he outer shell |02 is similarly formed and constructed to the shell 26 described in the preferred form having an inwardly turned trim edge |05 which is formed S-shaped in cross section with a spaced parallel ange |06 and the groove |01 therebetween. rI'he inner liner |04 is flanged outwardly, as at |09,

to extend towards flange |06. Secured by weld,

solder or the like to rear side' vof flange |09 is a |05. The recess is formed on the rear side of the opposite side edge of the breaker strip adjacent to the face of the flange |09.

Adapted to liel over the face of the breaker strip is a thin metallic cover member |20 preferably not exceeding in thickness .010 of an inch. 'I'he cover member |20 is'secured by having a longitudinal edge folded, as at |22, and inserted behind the trim portion |05. The folded edge section |22 engages in the recess ||6 becoming locked therein by a slight spreading of the folded portion with the end of section |22 abutting the edge'of the recess when attempted to belwithdrawn. The opposite longitudinal edge of the .cover member is marginally bent to engage around and cover the exposed end of the breaker strip and the end section |24 entering the recess ||1. The end |24 vis bent to extend diagonally across in the recess i1, and tensioned so as to hold the edge |21 in abutment against the face of flange |09 along its entire longitudinal length.

A door |30 swingably supported on hinges i'32 is provided for closing the opening to the storage compartment. The door is similar in construction to the door 24 described in the preferred form.

As will be noted in Fig. '1, the breaker strips are secured, about the rectangular opening, in sections which comprise vertical pilaster sections |40 joined by the horizontally extending top and bottom sections 4|. Each of the breaker strip sections are provided with a respective cover member I 20; The cover members on the hori- |2 is secured to flange |06 byv zontal sections Uil are laterally adjustable rela-p tive to its respective' breaker strip so as to be movable into close abutting relationship with the vertical pilaster sections MQ. The inturned anges |22 of the cover members are sufficiently spaced from the abutting edge of its respective recess H6 to permit a movable adjustment of the cover member towards its adjacent cover member. The cover members |20 on the pilaster section are provided with inturned ends |45 (see Fig. 11) against which the horizontal cover members abut. Sufficient frictional tension is provided by the folded section |22 and the end |24 against `the breaker strip to maintain the cover member in its relative adjusted position. By permitting vertical movement of the top and bottom horizontally extending cover members, a close I abutting fit may be at all times arranged Without the need or use of corner cover straps to close any gaps therebetween.

In the modied forms the cover members are shown corrugated with the corrugations 'extending longitudinally thereof. This is necessitated in some cases due to the thinness of the metal to add rigidity forvgreater ease in handling during the manufacturing process and assembling to the cabinet. It will appear obvious that other designs may be impressed or rolled in the structure to lend both attractiveness and rigidity, or

it may be left plain as shown in the preferred form. If desired corrugated strips may be used in the cabinet shown in Fig. 1.

Thus it will be noted that there is an arrangement for the interconnecting and supporting of the liner to the shell by insu1ation strips extending peripherally about the opening to the food compartment and forming the front wallof the cabinet. The insulation strips are ,concealed by a decorative cover arranged to embrace the insulation strip without the use of extraneous amxing means. Further, the arrangement is such that the covers are held in a close fit against the vedge of the outershell and flange of the liner. While I have described'the preferred form of my invention, I do not wish to limit myself to the precise-details as shown, but wish to avail myself ofsuch variations and modications as a breaker strip extending across said anges with one edge thereof being positioned in said pocket, means securing one side of said breakerv strip against said nanges and a. relatively thin eoverm ing member extending across'the outer face of said breaker strip with one edge thereof extending into said pocket andthe other edge thereof being wrapped around one edge of said breaker strip and releasably secured between said breaker 'strip and one of said flanges.

2. A cabinet construction comprising inner and outer spaced apart shells, the outer shell having a pocket and a flange extending toward the inner shell, the inner shell having aange extending toward the outer shell with both of said iianges being positioned on substantially the same plane,r

a breaker strip extending across said flanges with one edge thereof being positioned in said pocket, means securing one side of said breaker strip against said flanges and a relatively thin covering member extending across the outer face of said breaker strip with .one edge thereof extending into said pocket and the other edge thereof being wrapped around one edge of said breaker strip and releasably secured in a notch formed in said breaker strip between said breaker strip and one of said flanges.

3. A cabinet construction comprising inner and outer spaced apart shells, the outer shell having a pocket and a ange extending toward the inner l shell, the inner shell having a flange extending toward the outer shell with both of said flanges being positioned on substantially the same plane,

`a breaker strip extending across said anges with breaker strip and releasably'secured in a notch l formed in said breaker strip between said breaker strip and one of said lflanges.

r4. A cabinet construction comprising inner and outer spaced apart shells, the outer shell having a pocket and a flange extending toward the inner shell, the inner shell having a iiange extending toward the outer shell and a rearwardly directed portion extending from the inner shell flange with both of said fianges'being positioned on substantially vthe same plane, a breaker strip extending across said iianges with one edge thereof being positioned. in said pocket, means'engaging said rearwardly directedportion for securing one side of said breaker strip against said anges and a relatively thin corrugated covering member extending -across the outer face of said breaker strip with one edge thereof being positioned in sai-d pocket between the breaker strip and one wall of said .pocket and the other edge thereof being wrapped around one edge of said breaker strip and releasably secured in a notih formed in said breaker strip between 'said breaker strip and one of said anges.

'rm J. doULoozE. 

